2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

One of the best NBA Slam Dunk contests in a while resulted a controversial ending.

In the first round, Dwight Howard was good. Pat Connaughton was excellent. But Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr. were also fantastic. And although Connaughton put on a performance that was worthy of advancing, it was Gordon and Jones Jr. in the final Slam Dunk round.

And that's when things truly got wild.

Gordon and Jones Jr. took turns putting up 50-point dunks. Epic throwdowns. But then came the final pair of dunks.

Jones Jr. got himself a 48. Leaving Gordon with one last chance. And he dunked over giant Tacko Fall. Yet when the final score came in, it wound up being a 47, giving Jones Jr. a one-point win.

So, despite all his great Slam Dunk contest performances over the years, Aaron Gordon has yet to win a Dunk championship in the NBA.

ESPN.com reported the following: "Orlando Magic forward Gordon was particularly impressive, scoring 50s with his first five dunks of the night. The Miami Heat's Jones earned two 50s in the championship round along with Gordon, forcing a special "dunk off" round. That's where things took a turn. After Jones and Gordon each scored 50 with his opening dunk of the extra round, Jones took off from just inside the free throw line with a windmill. The judging panel that included Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Common, Chadwick Boseman and Scottie Pippen gave Jones a 48. Gordon then brought out Boston Celtics two-way contract center Tacko Fall, completing a dunk over the 7-foot-5 phenom. But to the horror of all involved (*outside of Miami), the judges gave Gordon a 47, awarding Jones the victory."

Former Slam Dunk champion Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers returns to the competition for the first time in 11 years as he headlines the field of four players who will take flight in the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the United Center in Chicago.

Howard is joined by two previous second-place finishers, Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic and Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat, as well as first-time participant Pat Connaughton of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 35th Slam Dunk contest is part of All-Star Saturday Night, which also features the Skills Challenge and the 3-Point Contest. All-Star Saturday Night will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States at 8 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star 2020 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

Howard, the 2008 Slam Dunk champion, will compete in the event for the first time since 2009, when he made the last of three consecutive appearances. Gordon’s dazzling runner-up performance in 2016 included three straight perfect scores of 50. Jones Jr., who turns 23 on the same day as the Slam Dunk contest, finished second in 2017. Connaughton is seeking to become the first Milwaukee player to win Slam Dunk contest.

The 2020 NBA Slam Dunk contest takes in place Chicago for the first time since 1988, when the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan memorably outdueled the Atlanta Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins to win his second consecutive Slam Dunk title.

Here is a closer look at the 2020 Slam Dunk contest participants:

• Pat Connaughton, Bucks (1st appearance): The 6-5 guard is in his second season with Milwaukee after spending his first three NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Connaughton (CONN-uh-ton) recorded a max vertical leap of 44 inches at the 2015 NBA Draft Combine, tied for the third-highest mark in event history. He was selected as a pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.

• Aaron Gordon, Magic (3rd appearance): Gordon returns to Slam Dunk for the first time since 2017. The 6-9 forward ranks third on the Magic in scoring (13.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (7.2 rpg) in his sixth NBA season.

• Dwight Howard, Lakers (4th appearance): Howard is an eight-time NBA All-Star selection, eight-time All-NBA Team selection and three-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-10 center ranks 14th in NBA history in both rebounds (13,553) and blocked shots (2,120).

• Derrick Jones Jr., Heat (2nd appearance): As a rookie in the 2016-17 season, Jones became the first player to compete in Slam Dunk and play in the NBA G League in the same season. Since then, the undrafted Jones has earned a full-time role in the NBA. Nicknamed “Airplane Mode” for his leaping ability, the 6-7 Jones won a national dunk contest for high school players in 2015.

2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Rules

In the two-round event, participants can perform any dunk they choose. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. The judges will be announced at a later date.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. Both players get two dunks in the final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the 2020 Slam Dunk champion.

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2019 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST RESULTS

“This is too easy. I need the biggest person in the building.” Thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo had already called for a ball rack, but Diallo wanted more. For his breakout moment at the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest. Diallo needed a Hall-of-Famer’s help, then the assistance of one of the world’s most famous rappers. Diallo called on a teammate, too, en route to a victory in the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday at the Spectrum Center." -- Oklahoman

"John Collins did not advance to the finals of the Slam Dunk Contest after a two-dunk opening round during NBA All-Star Saturday Night in Charlotte. The Hawks’ second-year forward went first of the four competitors. In his opening dunk, Collins grabbed the side of the backboard with his left hand and slammed with his right hand. The dunk scored an 8 (out of 10) from all five judges for a total of 40 points. He was third after the first round." -- Atlanta Journal Constitution

The 34th NBA Slam Dunk contest is part of All-Star Saturday Night, which also features the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest. All-Star Saturday Night will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States at 8 p.m. ET.

Two rookies (Bridges and Diallo) and two second-year NBA players (Collins and Smith) comprise the Slam Dunk field. Here is a closer look at the participants:

• Miles Bridges, Hornets: Competing in his home arena, the 6-7 forward is the Hornets’ first Slam Dunk participant since 2010 (Gerald Wallace). Bridges, the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has 12 double-digit scoring games this season. He was a consensus 2017-18 Second Team All-American in his sophomore season at Michigan State.

• John Collins, Hawks: Collins leads Atlanta in scoring (19.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg) and ranks ninth in the NBA in field goal percentage (58.4). He earned a spot on the U.S. Team in the Rising Stars game, which will be played on Friday, Feb. 15 during NBA All-Star 2019. The 6-10 forward-center was named to the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds last season. A former Wake Forest star, Collins is Atlanta’s first Slam Dunk competitor since 2006 (Josh Smith).

• Hamidou Diallo, Thunder: Diallo, a 6-5 guard, recorded a 44.5-inch maximum vertical jump at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, the second-highest mark in event history. The 45th overall pick in NBA Draft 2018 presented by State Farm has appeared in 43 games as a rookie with Oklahoma City. In his three starts, Diallo has averaged 8.7 points and shot 76.9 percent from the field. He is the Thunder’s first Slam Dunk participant since 2011 (Serge Ibaka).

• Dennis Smith Jr., Knicks: Smith returns to Slam Dunk after finishing third last season. The 6-3 guard, who was acquired by New York in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 31, is averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. Last season, the Fayetteville, N.C., native averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists and joined Collins on the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Smith is the Knicks’ first Slam Dunk competitor since 2013 (James White).

2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Rules

In the two-round event, participants can perform any dunk they choose. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion. Click here for a complete explanation of the rules.

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell can add another accolade to a standout rookie season: NBA dunk champion. Mitchell beat the Cleveland Caveliers' Larry Nance Jr. in the final of the NBA Slam Dunk contest Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, winning with a score of 98 to Nance's 96 in the championship round. -- Deseret News

Q. Can you tell us about the last dunk when you
paid homage to Vince Carter, it was over, as you
said?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Growing up I was a big dunker.
I wasn't really much of a basketball player. I just
dunked and played defense, and I watched a lot of
Vince's videos. I've been seeing what he's been doing
all year at his age, which is incredible.
So I figured, you know, at my size if I was able to get it,
it would be a great dunk and a way to finish it, you
know. And actually, funny story is I haven't made that
dunk in like half a year. I tried it in practice the past two
days and tried it this morning, didn't make it. Tried it
last night, didn't make it. So to be able -- or two nights
ago, excuse me. But to be able to make it was why I
was so excited.

Q. You went with Dr. Dunkenstein as well as the
Vince Carter dunk. How important is it to you to be
a student of the game?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: You know, just knowing your
history, I think, is the biggest thing. Just understanding
where this game originated, I guess the OGs of the
game, I guess you would call it. But just
understanding. Even if it's just dunking. Whether it's
dunking in the NBA in general, Darrell Griffith, we went
to the same school in college. I know Darrell very well.
Both got drafted by the Jazz, and he was an incredible
player. To be able to pay homage to him meant a lot to
me.

Q. How much preparation went into this contest for
you, and then once you got out there, how much
did you have to improvise?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: So believe it or not, I've been
preparing for this since I was a kid, you know, like what
am I going to do? But I didn't know I'd be able to jump
this high, so it kind of added a few more tricks.
But the first one, I've been doing that since high school.
Just acted as if there's a wall behind the basket. The
second one I missed the first dunk, which was my
original dunk, and I switched it up. Brought my sister,
Kevin Hart and his son out there, just for fun, you know.
Just to have fun. I'm glad and I'm honored that he
helped me out. He's one of my favorite comedians.
The third one was supposed to be my second dunk,
the one that I missed. But I figured if I do it again, I've
got to punch it home. And then obviously the last one
was probably one of my favorites.

Q. Can you kind of just talk us through sort of the
over -- you said this is something you've wanted to
do from a little kid. What kind of dunker were you
early in your life, when did you first dunk, and what
was that process to get to tonight?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: My first dunk was in the
seventh grade, outside at a park in Harlem. Funny
thing is I had AAU teammates, and all three of us
dunked for the first time on the same day, so that was a
pretty exciting experience.
My first during in a game was in eighth grade at
Greenwich Country Day School, and from there, I just
fell in love with it. I always used to lower the rim.
Everybody used to go low rims and try to do crazy stuff
on it. And it came to the point where the stuff I was
doing on the low rims, I was able to do on ten-foot rims,
and then from there, all right, now I'm going to start
watching guys. I watched Aaron Gordon highlights in
high school in class. I know I shouldn't say that, but
like that was -- he was one of my favorite high school
dunkers. Zach LaVine as well.
So to be out there and be in the same competition as
those guys and to win it is incredible.

Q. Were there any other dunks tonight that really
impressed you?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Larry's was nice. I didn't know
he did it twice off the backboard. I thought he just did it
once. The fact that he did it twice, it just shows -- for a
guy that height, people always say it's easy for him to
dunk. The fact that he was bringing the ball to his feet
was impressive. He paid homage to his dad.
Vic had a nice one. I wish he got the first one, though,
because I was really excited. I've seen Dennis dunk
since high school. So I knew I've seen the dunks, but
he got higher tonight because of the atmosphere.

Q. At what point of the day or the competition did
you know that you were going to take it all the
way?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: After I made the dunk.

Q. Yeah, just after the last one?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah, I didn't think I was going
to win, to be honest with you. If you ask anybody
around me, I was like, yeah, it's fun to participate. That
was my thing. Yeah, it's fun to be in it. I didn't think
this was going to happen.
Maybe y'all don't know, but I didn't think any of this was
going to happen, so the fact that any of this is
happening is incredible to me. I'm just enjoying this
whirlwind.

Q. It's not something that you felt throughout the
day like this is my day? No, not at all?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: No, because the thing is I
knew how high some of these guys jumped, and I said
if they make their dunks -- it's all about makes or
misses at that point. It was just a matter of finding out
at that time. There was really no -- it's not like you can
say I'm going to make every shot. He's not scoring on
me. It's a little different with dunks. You've got to wait
until the moment happens to figure out I might have a
shot. You're back there changing and guys start
missing dunks and you think I've got to make this, and
all right, that's it.

Q. It might be too early to set in, but you're
obviously a student of the game, so paying
homage to Vince Carter. What do you say to
possible young players paying homage to you 20
years down the line?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Hopefully I've been in the
league long enough like Vince has to leave an impact
like he has. My biggest thing is just staying humble.
The big thing that like a lot of my parents and people of
the older generation say like young kids nowadays we
feel entitled. We feel like we deserve everything that
we have, and that's not the case.
You look at injuries that happened this whole year, this
could be taken away in a matter of seconds. You could
have a great day and then it could be taken away. So
you've got to approach it every day like this is your last
day. You've got to go out there and just work your butt
off because this isn't promised. Like I tell people, I
didn't expect any of this to happen. I was a kid who
couldn't shoot, couldn't do anything, and just continued
to work. I didn't let the high school rankings, the being
Top 5 in the draft, didn't let any of that affect me. Just
going out there and taking it day by day. If you
continue to learn, learning is underrated for kids
nowadays. Kids don't like to learn. They like to just do,
and that's when mistakes come. Just starting to learn
and being able to understand that that's part of the
process.

Q. Was there one of those guys out there that you
wanted to go head to head with in the finals?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Dennis for sure.

Q. Why Dennis?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Because I've lost dunk
contests to him and Derrick Jones in high school a
bunch, so I wanted to try to at least have a chance to
go up against them. But unfortunately he missed a few
dunks.
But like I said, I've been watching him dunk for a while,
and it was pretty cool to be out there with him again.

Q. Did you have another dunk if the dunk contest
went one more round?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: No.

Q. So that was it for you?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah, that was it.

Q. Wanted to ask you, you were talking about the
visualization of coming up, not thinking about
being a Top 10 pick. This rookie year has been
magnificent for you, and it's really -- you're gaining
more and more confidence and more
assertiveness. So talk about like did you visualize
this a year ago in your preparation and working
hard for the draft, especially being under Coach
Rick Pitino? Did he give you that confidence as
well?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: He gave me the confidence to
start shooting, to start shooting without having fear.
There was a time when my freshman year I shot 25%
from the field and teams were letting me shoot. Like
go ahead, air ball this, air ball that. There comes a
point in time where you just get tired of hearing it.
As a competitor, I got tired of hearing it. Oh, you can't
shoot. People like that play basketball, they
understand. That's one of the most disrespectful
things if a guy sags off you. It's not a good thing.
You're going to guard me. That was my mindset. And
with him, Coach P., he gave me the mindset of, all right,
I can shoot.
No, I didn't think my shooting would get me to this
point, but I just prepared like I was going against all the
guys that wanted me to shoot. Like, all right. Fine.
You guys are going to pay eventually. And that's been
my preparation ever since then.

Q. The elbow dunk, did you think about doing that?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah, but I saw what
happened to Blake that one year where he had all
those scars on his arm. So I was like, I'm not 6'10", and if that's happening to him and he's 6'10", well, one,
I might slip off and you never know. So I just wanted to
be careful.

Q. You go by different monikers. You've got The
Spider and you've got Dr. Dunkenstein. What is
your favorite nickname?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Spider, for sure. Dr.
Dunkenstein is for Darrell Griffith and Darrell Griffith
only. That's his name, and I prefer Spider for sure.

Q. Your team has won 11 games in a row. You had
the 40-point game in the big fourth quarter against
San Antonio. Now you win the dunk contest. Can
you describe what this last month has been like?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: A whirlwind, honestly. It's
been a fun month. It started with Ricky's (Rubio) play.
Really returned and the streak I'm talking about, Ricky
just came out averaging like 28, 6 and 7 for his first four
games before he got hurt. He really set the tone with
that streak.
When he came in, I call him a different Ricky. He came
in, he was more vocal, locked in. He wasn't smiling as
much. He looked really serious and just completely
changed. I think we all kind of fed off of that.
One thing about our team is you can't tell if we're on an
11-game winning streak or 11-game losing streak.
We're always happy. We're always happy to be around
each other, and that's not always the case in the NBA,
I'm starting to figure out.
We enjoy each other's company on and off the floor,
and that builds trust and you have faith in your
teammates on the court once you start to build that
chemistry off the court. Yeah, this month has been
insane.

Q. As someone who is clearly completely impartial,
how do you think this win should influence the
Rookie of the Year race?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Not at all. Not at all I don't
think. I don't think this should influence it at all. It's a
great award and I'm very honored and happy to have it,
but I think Rookie of the Year is based on one how your
team does, how you impact your team, and I wouldn't
say statistics. There is a lot more to it than that.
But I don't think the Slam Dunk Contest should -- I
mean, if it does, that would be cool. But I don't think it
should, personally.

Q. Was it your idea to include Jordan or was it
Jordan's idea?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: It was my idea. She didn't like
it at first. Because I've never jumped over her, but I've jumped over people taller than her, so I was like I can
definitely jump over you. No problem. She didn't feel
confident with it. So I said, scooch down a little bit if
you feel confident in doing that. Then it was my idea to
add Kevin Hart in there. But she was very nervous
during the practices and all that. But I'm glad she was
there for me.

Q. Why was it important to you to make sure
Jordan was included?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Growing up she's been to so
many games. She's missed so many parties with
friends. It's tough sometimes being a popular athlete's
sibling. Lot of people don't know that. She's sat in the
car for hours while I've had games. She's done a lot,
and I'm getting kind of emotional just saying all this.
But, yeah -- she's a trooper. She's been there. She's
driven in the car 14 hours with my mom to Louisville
and watched the game and then drove back the same
night.
To have a sister that's dedicated to doing that, to bring
her out here for All-Star Weekend, she met Gabrielle
Union, she freaked out. She took a picture of Odell
Beckham. And all she does is show me videos of that
guy: Did you see him do this, did you see him do that?
So to have her out here and see all this, I'm glad I
could give this to her and have her be a part of it. And
her followers will go up, too, so I think she'll be happy
about that.

Q. Since most of us are unable to dunk, can you
describe the feeling you get when you're flying
through mid-air and slamming the ball through the
basket?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think it's two different feelings.
In the dunk contest you're only focused on like, I need
to make this. I think it's different. In a game obviously
you need to make the two points. Don't get me wrong.
It's not okay to miss dunks, but you're just focused on
power dunking. In the dunk contest you get to a
certain point where the adrenaline's there, so you're
not worried about your legs. It's more so the
concentration. And if you look at my face, I kind of bite
my lip and I either look really happy or really angry. It's
just me trying to dunk the ball as hard as I can. And
my vein is throbbing right now, to be honest with you.
But I try to dunk it as hard as I can. Because being my
height it's not normal to see guys dunk as hard as I do.

Q. With you being a dunk fanatic that you are,
watching all the past slam dunk winners, what do
you feel like it's done for watching the careers, and
what happened once they've won a dunk contest?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: There's cases where it's propelled guys. There are some guys, you know, who
are just really, really good dunkers. But one of my
favorites is Gerald Green. Outside of Vince Carter,
obviously. You look at Michael Jordan's one,
Dominique's one, but Gerald Green is one of my
favorites, and look what he's doing in Houston. It's just
a matter of how you take it.
I think it definitely builds a lot of hype around your
name, but I'm going to continue being the same kid
that, to be honest, a lot of you didn't know going to
Utah. I'm going to be honest. I'm going to keep being
that kid. Despite being the slam dunk champion. I'm
still the same 13th draft pick. I got drafted to Utah, and
we're going to be the same team that's hopefully
continuing a multiple-game winning streak. But the
biggest thing is not letting this get to here and just
continuing to stay grounded and stay even keeled.

Q. In your first season with the Utah Jazz, who has
been the biggest mentor for you, what player?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think it -- I don't want to say
changes, but it depends on offense or defensive.
Defensively I asked Thabo Sefolosha probably a million
questions. Growing up I watched -- a big LeBron fan,
and he gave LeBron fits in The Finals. He's played
with Kevin Durant, played with Westbrook. Seen guys
prepare, seen guys work.
So I ask him a thousand questions about everything. I
asked him what does he eat? How does he stretch?
After a long road trip, how does he do this? And I think
he's been one of the biggest life advisors for me. Just
figuring it out. And good thing with that, he never gets
annoyed with it. It could be something as little as why
can't I eat P.F. Chang's the night before a game, and
something like that, and he'll give me his input. He's
like one time I had McDonald's before a game, and it
was the worst decision of my life.
Offensively, being next to Ricky has helped me a lot.
I've been trying to become a better passer. That's
been one of my things. Obviously, he's one of the best.
He throws behind-the-back passes for no reason and
they're right on target. So, in the Rising Stars game, I
told him I'm just trying to be like you. Trying to get 15
assists. Unfortunately, I didn't get that, but it just
depends.
Joe Ingles has been big for my confidence down the
stretch. I haven't been shooting the ball pretty well,
and in fourth quarters he looks at me and it's like, all
right, it's time. Whatever happened the first three
quarters is over with. This is the time to go. When you
have teammates like that that are receptive and listen
and allow you to ask questions as a rookie and don't
feel threatened, I guess, that's the biggest thing.
In the league there are guys, oh, you play the same
position as me, I'm not going to answer anything like
that. But the team we have is not like that at all. We all
want success for each other, and I think it's great to
have teammates like that.
2018 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PREVIEW

February 5, 2018 -- Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell will replace Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon in the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mitchell will no longer participate in the 2018 Skills Challenge on the same night. He will be replaced by Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield.

NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, 2016 runner-up Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic and first-time participants Larry Nance Jr. of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dennis Smith Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks were selected to display their aerial creativity in the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, Gordon is injured and been replaced by Donovan Mitchell.

The 33rd Slam Dunk contest is part of All-Star Saturday Night, which will air on TNT and ESPN Radio at 8 p.m. ET. All-Star Saturday Night also includes the Skills Challenge and the Three-Point Contest.

2018 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PARTICIPANTS

Victor Oladipo, Pacers: A first-time All-Star this season, Oladipo ranks 13th in the NBA in scoring (career-high 23.9 ppg) while shooting career highs of 48.8 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three-point range. This is his second Verizon Slam Dunk appearance, having finished second to Zach LaVine in 2015. At the inaugural NBA Awards last June, Oladipo won the fan-voted Dunk of the Year for the 2016-17 season. The 6-4 guard is seeking to become the second consecutive Pacer to win the event; Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III, the 2017 champion, is working his way back from ankle surgery.

Larry Nance Jr: The 6-9 forward is the son of three-time NBA All-Star Larry Nance, who won the inaugural Verizon Slam Dunk in 1984 by defeating Julius Erving in the final round. Nance Jr. is posting career highs in scoring (8.8 ppg), rebounding (6.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (60.3) in his third season. He was a finalist for Dunk of the Year last season. Competing at his home arena, Nance is seeking to become the Lakers’ first Slam Dunk winner since Kobe Bryant in 1997.

Dennis Smith Jr., Mavericks: Renowned for his vertical leap, Smith ranks fifth among rookies in scoring (14.8 ppg) and fourth in assists (4.8 apg). The 6-3 guard registered his first triple-double on Dec. 29 against the New Orleans Pelicans, joining Jason Kidd (1994-95) as the only Dallas rookies with a triple-double. Smith, the ninth pick in NBA Draft 2017 presented by State Farm, will compete for the U.S. Team in Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16 during NBA All-Star 2018.

Donovan Mitchell, named as the Slam Dunk contest replacement for Aaron Gordon (injured) is the seventh Jazzman to compete in the Dunk Contest on All-Star Saturday Night, joining Darrell Griffith (1984 & 1985), Blue Edwards (1990 & 1991), David Benoit (1993), Jamie Watson (1995), DeShawn Stevenson (2001) and Jeremy Evans (2012 & 2013). In 49 games (41 starts) in his first NBA season, Mitchell is averaging a team-best and rookie-leading 19.7 points, along with 3.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. Mitchell leads all rookies in points scored (964), 20-plus point games (24), 30-plus point games (six), three-pointers made (115) and is the first rookie since Tyreke Evans (2009-10) to average over 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal per contest. Mitchell totaled a Jazz-rookie record 41 points on Dec. 1 and 40 points against Phoenix on Feb. 2, marking the first time a rookie has posted two 40-plus point games in a season since Blake Griffin in 2010-11. He has earned Kia Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for games played during December and January and is averaging 23.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.6 boards and 1.7 steals per contest since Dec. 1.

* Donovan Mitchell replaced Aaron Gordon (injured)

2018 NBA Slam Dunk Rules

In the two-round event, participants can perform any dunk they choose. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

Glenn Robinson III is the NBA's new dunk king, with an assist to Indiana teammate Paul George, the Pacers' mascot and a Pacers cheerleader. Robinson leaped over all three, snagging the ball from George along the way before finishing with an emphatic, two-hand, reverse jam, giving him a perfect score — and the title — on his final dunk... Robinson edged out Phoenix's Derrick Jones Jr., who was done in by his failure to complete his difficult first dunk of two in the final round. -- AP

Robinson's first dunk was one of his best. He leap-frogged one man sitting on another's shoulders, grabbed the ball from the elevated man's hands and slammed it home. He said 2000 dunk champ Vince Carter was one of his primary influences, along with Michael Jordan, of course. -- AP

DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers and Aaron Gordon of Orlando were unable to emerge from the first round. Jordan dunked over DJ turn tables and Gordon dunked after receiving a bounce pass from a drone that had flown over the court with the "Star Wars" theme music playing. -- AP

Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III scored a perfect 50 after jumping over three people, including Pacers teammate Paul George, and throwing it down with his back to the rim to capture the Slam Dunk title. Robinson, the son of former NBA player Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, outjumped Phoenix’s Derrick Jones Jr., 94-87, in the finals. -- NY Newsday

2017 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PREVIEW

Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, last year’s runner-up, and NBA All-Star center DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers will take flight in the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday, February 18 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gordon and Jordan are joined in the four-player Slam Dunk contest field by Derrick Jones Jr. of the Phoenix Suns and Glenn Robinson III of the Indiana Pacers.

The NBA Slam Dunk contest is part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which will be televised by TNT at 8 p.m. ET.

Gordon returns to the NBA's Slam Dunk contest after an incredible performance last year that included three consecutive perfect scores of 50. Although he lost to Zach LaVine, Gordon's performance was as good as any in Slam Dunk contest history. This season, the three-year veteran is averaging a career-high 11.4 points per game. The 6-9 forward has scored at least 20 points six times after recording five 20-point games in his first two seasons combined.

Jordan, a 2015-16 All-NBA First Team selection and a first-time All-Star in 2017, is tied for the NBA lead in rebounding (13.8 rpg) and paces the league in field goal percentage (69.6) for the fifth straight season. The 6-11 center also has a league-high 150 dunks in his ninth season.

Derrick Jones Jr has split time this season between the Suns and their NBA Development League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. NBA fans probably barely know who he is. He can throw down, though. The 6-7 rookie forward will become the first player to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk competition and play in the NBA D-League in the same season. Nicknamed “Airplane Mode” for his leaping ability, Jones won a national dunk contest for high school players in 2015 before playing one season at UNLV.

Robinson III has started 24 of his 46 games in his third NBA season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds overall for the Pacers. The 6-6 guard/forward is the son of two-time NBA All-Star Glenn Robinson Jr., the first overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft.

The 2017 NBA Slam Dunk contest is a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

The AP reports: The All-Star Game tips off Sunday night, when the crowd might still be buzzing over the performances [Zach] LaVine and [Aaron] Gordon put on to cap off All-Star Saturday. LaVine finally won after extra dunks were needed, joining Jordan, Jason Richardson and Nate Robinson as the only back-to-back winners of the dunk title. He knows people might still talk about Jordan or Julius Erving, great dunkers of the past. But even they didn't pull off what LaVine and Gordon did Saturday, so LaVine was asked if it was the best. ''Like half the dunks we did were like professional dunker dunks, and it takes them four or five times to try it and make it, and we did it on the first try,'' LaVine said. ''It was crazy. In my opinion, yes.''

The AP reports: He and Gordon traded perfect scores of 50 for the previous few rounds after advancing to the final, but the Orlando Magic rookie mustered only a 47 in his last attempt.

CSN Chicago reports: Move over, Michael and Dominique. The whispers about the once-famed dunk contest no longer deserving top-billing on the NBA’s All-Star Saturday night grew louder and louder, especially as Golden State teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson splashed jumper after jumper in the final of the 3-point shootout, scintillating the crowd with swishes. But Minnesota’s Zach LaVine and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon made a thunderous statement about the NBA’s best form of entertainment: that the dunk is king.

NJ.com reports: Zach LaVine won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night, but, let's face it: Aaron Gordon had the two best dunks. Gordon snatched the ball from the head of a mascot, sat in midair as he put the ball between his legs, then slammed it through as the crowd -- and his peers -- went wild.br>
The Detroit News reports: But LaVine, the defending champion, prevailed on the fourth dunk — the second overtime of the final round — after he and Gordon had perfect scores on their first three dunks. On his winning dunk, LaVine glided from the free-throw line and executed a windmill dunk, earning his fifth perfect score of the competition. On Gordon’s final dunk, he took off from the baseline, pumped it behind his head, back down through his legs, andoback over his head, for a powerful reverse finish. But that garnered only a 47 from the judges, opening the door for LaVine. “I think we should share the trophy — because (Gordon) did some stuff I’ve never seen before,” LaVine said during the trophy presentation. “He brought the best out of me; I had to bring my A-plus game.”

The Detroit News reports: Gordon relied on the Orlando Magic mascot to help with some of the dunks — including holding the ball while rotating on a Hoverboard, as Gordon ran, grabbed the ball and dunked it. LaVine mainly relied on his own creativity and gravity-defying athleticism. At 6-foot-9, Gordon erased some of the doubt about big men being able to excel in the dunk contest, with flexibility and power, including one dunk on which his legs were parallel to the floor and he tucked the ball under his legs and over his head, for a two-handed, reverse slam.

CSN Chicago reports: Like Jordan, LaVine dunked from the free-throw line—but on one of his dunks, he added a windmill. On another, he added a between-the-legs move, thrilling the crowd and leaving Gordon wondering what more could he do.

USA Today reports: The highlights of LaVine's final round included a windmill jam from the free-throw line, a through-the-legs dunk from just below the free-throw line and a through-the-legs reverse bucket starting from under the baseline. LaVine earned 50-point scores for each dunk in the final as judges Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Magic Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo and George Gervin were ecstatic after each finish. Gordon did close to the same when he put away a pair of incredible dunks with the help of the Magic mascot (one of which saw him put the ball under both legs), but his final dunk apparently wasn't up to snuff. The judges gave him a 47-point score to set LaVine up for the win.

The AP reports: After outlasting Aaron Gordon in what many believe was the best slam dunk contest in All-Star weekend history, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine posted a touching tribute to the late Flip Saunders on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. Saunders, the Timberwolves president and coach, died suddenly from Hodgkins lymphoma just days before the season started. Saunders drafted LaVine 13th overall two years ago despite the young guard playing only one season as a bench player at UCLA.

2016 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PREVIEW INFO

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine will defend his title in 2016 NBA Slam Dunk contest at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday, February 13. LaVine, who won the NBA’s signature above-the-rim showcase in spectacular fashion as a 19-year-old rookie last year, is joined by three first-time competitors: Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, 2016 NBA All-Star Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.

LaVine is seeking to join Michael Jordan (1987-88), Jason Richardson (2002-03) and Nate Robinson (2009-10) as the only solo back-to-back winners of NBA Slam Dunk competition. LaVine, who was also selected to the U.S. Team for the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12, is averaging 12.8 points and 3.2 assists in his second NBA season.

Barton is enjoying a breakout year, averaging career highs in points (15.5 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg) and assists (2.3 apg) in his fourth season. His scoring average is second among players who have come off the bench in more than half their games, behind the New Orleans Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson (17.2 ppg). No Nuggets player has ever won the NBA dunk contest.

Drummond, who leads the NBA in rebounding (15.0 rpg) and double-doubles (41), earned an All-Star nod for the first time in his four-year career. He is the first Detroit player to make the Eastern Conference All-Star team since Allen Iverson in the 2008-09 season. The last Piston to compete in the Slam Dunk contest was Jerry Stackhouse in 2000. It's a surprise to InsideHoops.com that Drummond is in this thing.

Gordon, the fourth pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, is averaging 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in his second season and recently became a starter with the Magic. He is looking to join Dwight Howard (2008) as Orlando players to win the NBA Slam Dunk contest.

The 2016 NBA Slam Dunk competition is a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

Minnesota's teenage rookie Zach LaVine came up with some high-flying fireworks on Saturday to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, part of the league's All-Star weekend festivities. LaVine, 19, scored a perfect 100 in the opening round in which he wowed the crowd at the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center arena with a through-the-legs, one-handed reverse dunk. He followed up with a behind-the-back slam off a ball he tossed up himself. -- AFP

In the championship round, he defeated the Orlando Magic's Victor Oladipo with two more between-the-legs slams that earned 94 points. Teammate Andrew Wiggins assisted -- holding the ball out for LaVine on the first effort from the right baseline and passing off the basket stanchion on the second. LaVine became the second-youngest winner of the competition. Kobe Bryant won it in 1997 at the age of 18. -- AFP

"That's the funny thing," LaVine said of his best dunk. "I didn't do that one. I got some tricks in the bag still." LaVine has given NBA fans plenty to chew on until he decides to reveal those dunks, completing arguably the best four dunks of the night among all of the contestants. His night opened up with an ode to Space Jam, a film the 19-year old said he watched growing up. "I came up with it in high school," LaVine said of the opening dunk. -- NJ.com

After years of disappointing dunk contests, Minnesota’s Zach LaVine posted perfect 50s on two of his four attempts to beat an entertaining field that included Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Orlando’s Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee. The 19-year-old rookie, a first-round pick last summer after a year at UCLA, leaped to take a pass off the backboard, slipped the ball between his legs and threw down a one-handed dunk — his head near the rim — to beat Oladipo in the finals. -- San Francisco Chronicle

2015 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST INTRO

The 2015 Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will feature four exciting, up-and-coming players and a format change that adds an old-school feel to the 30th edition of the contest.

A first-time champion will be crowned as three surging second-year players and a leading rookie will all make their debuts in the league’s signature above-the-rim showcase: the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Zach LaVine, the Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo and the Brooklyn Nets’ Mason Plumlee.

TNT will televise the 2015 NBA Slam Dunk contest live on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn during All-Star Saturday Night.

Returning to a classic format, the 2015 Slam Dunk contest will be a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players will have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges will score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be the champion.

The three second-year players in the contest have all built on promising rookie campaigns this season. Antetokounmpo, the first Bucks player to appear in the Slam Dunk since Ray Allen in 1997, has scored in double figures in 28 of his 44 games this season after doing so 23 times in 77 games last season. The 20-year-old forward from Greece has a chance to make history as both the first Milwaukee player and first international player to win the title.

Oladipo, the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up, has increased his scoring average from 13.8 points in his first season to 16.5 points in his second season and improved his field goal percentage from 41.9 to 45.9.

Plumlee, whose career 62.6 shooting percentage is the highest among players selected in the 2013 NBA Draft, is averaging 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds for Brooklyn this season, including 13.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in 27 starts. He will attempt to become the first Nets player to win the Slam Dunk competition and the fourth player to claim the title at his home arena, an exclusive club composed of the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan (1988), Minnesota’s Isaiah Rider (1994) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (2011).

The only first-year player in the field, LaVine ranks second among rookies in assists (3.4 apg) and is tied for fourth in scoring (8.0 ppg). A victory for the 19-year-old LaVine would make him the second-youngest winner in Slam Dunk history (Kobe Bryant was 18 when he claimed the 1997 event in Cleveland).

Harrison Barnes and his teammates Damian Lillard and Ben McLemore for the West failed to capture the imaginations of the judges in Saturday night's slam dunk contest. Team East, led by Paul George (Indiana), Terrence Ross (Toronto), John Wall (Washington) obtained a clean sweep in the battle round. -- CSN Bay Area

A change in the format to the dunk contest left observers feeling unsatisfied Saturday night. In the traditional layout, participants would throw down their best dunks in timed rounds with a panel of judges determining who would advance until a winner was decided. The new format featured participants working as a team – three from the Eastern Conference facing three from the Western Conference – in a two-round battle. The "Freestyle Round" kicked off the event, with each team getting 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as possible and the panel of judges voting East or West. The winning conference would then pick which would dunk first in the "Battle Round." The "Battle Round" featured head-to-head matchups with one player from the East and one from the West, with the judges again picking a winning side. The first conference to win three battles would win the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest. -- Oregonian

2014 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST INTRO

NBA All-Stars Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and John Wall of the Washington Wizards headline the list of dunkers in the 2014 NBA Slam Dunk contest, taking place during All-Star Saturday Night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 15. Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors and Ben McLemore of the Sacramento Kings fill out the Western Conference teams, while reigning Slam Dunk champion Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors completes the East roster.

This marks the first time in 26 years that three All-Stars are competing in the Slam Dunk contest. In the 1988 competition in Chicago, All-Stars Clyde Drexler, Michael Jordan, and Dominique Wilkins squared off, with Jordan claiming the crown in front of the hometown fans.

This year’s event will feature the participants competing as a team – three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference – in an above-the-rim two-round format. In a significant first in the event’s history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting “East” or “West.” The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round.

All-Star Saturday Night will be exclusively televised on TNT. The event also will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio and will collectively reach fans in 215 countries and territories in more than 47 languages.

For the second consecutive year, the Eastern and Western conferences will compete during All-Star Saturday Night in an evening of challenges that will raise money for charity. NBA Cares and will make a joint donation of $500,000 as part of the event, with $100,000 awarded to each event’s winning conference’s charities and $25,000 going to the charities of the runner-up for each event. The Eastern Conference will be playing for the American Heart Association and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF while the Western Conference will compete for Teach for America and Wounded Warrior Project®. All-Stars Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and George, winner of the 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, will serve as captains of the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively. The charities were selected by George and Curry, the NBA, and State Farm.

“It’s a real honor to serve as the Captain of the Eastern Conference Team for All-Star Saturday Night,” George said. “This is a great opportunity to support and raise awareness of very worthy charities while entertaining our fans with contests showcasing the athleticism, creativity and excitement of our game. I’m particularly pumped to be in the Slam Dunk Contest as the new format provides players with the chance to display our individual skills while battling for conference bragging rights.”

The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Slam Dunk champions.

After the competition, fans will also have the opportunity to vote for the player of their choice as “Dunker of the Night” through SMS, Twitter, NBA.com and the NBA GameTime app.

Lillard, the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, also is participating in the Skills Challenge and Three Point Contest, becoming the first player to appear in three events during All-Star Saturday Night. He is additionally participating in the 2014 Rising Stars Challenge to be played Feb. 14, and the 2014 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16. Barnes and Ross also are both participating in the Rising Stars Challenge.

"I'm excited to represent the Trail Blazers in the Rising Stars Challenge and my first NBA All-Star Game," said Lillard. "It's also an honor to be the first player to participate in three events at All-Star Saturday Night."

Terrence Ross had to settle his nerves at the start of the All-Star dunk contest. By the end, he was calming down a ball boy he needed as a prop for his winning slam.

The 6-foot-6 Toronto rookie leapfrogged Michael Costolo, the son of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, whipped the ball between his legs and hammered home a one-handed dunk to beat defending champion Jeremy Evans in the climax to All-Star Saturday.

''I told him the day before that I was going to jump over him, but I never told him I was going to go through the legs,'' Ross said. ''He was kind of nervous. When I first grabbed him, he said, 'You're not going to hit me, right?' I said, 'No, I'm not going to hit you.'''

Ross seemed to be unsure of himself in the beginning, botching his first three dunk attempts in the first round. The crowd exploded when he finally pulled it off - flicking the ball behind his back on the way up and hammering home a one-handed dunk.

He earned a perfect 50 and immediately relaxed.

-- Associated Press

In defense of his title, Evans used a pair of impressive dunks to advance to the championship round against Ross. First, he pulled off a dunk over a seated Mark Eaton — albeit after several missed attempts — and then pulled off a simultaneous dunk using two balls — a trick he used to win in 2012 — to finish with an aggregate score of 90, pitting himself against Ross in the final. Evans went first in the championship round and dunked over a covered easel. After making the attempt, he walked over and removed the black cover, revealing a picture of himself dunking, which he signed with a Sharpie. Evans later threw down his second and final dunk authoritatively, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Ross, who paid homage to former Raptor high-flying slammer Vince Carter with one of his championship-round dunks. -- Deseret News

Terrence Ross, the Toronto Raptors’ rookie, slipped on a Carter jersey and then performed one of Carter’s dunks spectacularly. With a memorable championship round performance, Ross flew over a small child and the impressive slams of defending champion Jeremy Evans to win the dunk contest Saturday at Toyota Center, receiving 58 percent of the vote. “I feel blessed, but it’s still overwhelming,” Ross said. “I’m just trying to soak it all in. “It was my favorite event to watch every year since I was a small child. But actually winning it, I never thought I’d do it. It’s been unbelievable. I’ve had fun. I’m just enjoying everything.” -- Houston Chronicle Blog

Ross’s exuberance came through on the floor as he paid tribute to Carter and teammate DeMar DeRozan and some of their top dunks before scoring 99 points with his first two dunks, taking one behind his back and another to a spinning, one-handed slam. After a rocky first few rounds marked by several dunks that proved as impossible as they seemed, the championship round took off. -- Houston Chronicle Blog

Ross scored a perfect 50 on his first dunk of the contest, completing a behind-the-back reverse after missing five times. He played it safe with his second, a 360 spin after a bounce off the court, then persevered as Knicks forward James "Flight" White and Houston product Gerald Green of the Pacers stunned and sputtered.
Green scored a 50 on his first dunk, a similar routine as Ross' penultimate effort, but failed to complete a double dunk on his second attempt. White also failed to complete his second dunk, yielding a spot in the final to Ross. Once there, Ross captivated the crowd like a veteran. -- Sports Xchange

For the second consecutive year, Jazz forward Jeremy Evans soared in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. This time, though, the guy nicknamed the "Human Pogo Stick" didn’t walk away with the championship. With 58 percent of the fan vote, Toronto guard Terrence Ross beat Evans in the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest in Houston Saturday night. Evans won last year’s slam dunk contest in Orlando. -- Deseret News

INTRO TO 2013 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST

The 2013 NBA Slam Dunk contest will feature six dunkers competing in a two-round competition as part of All-Star Saturday Night. The new format will pit the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in an exciting night of competition that will also raise money for charity.

The Western Conference will be represented by the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz along with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe and Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried. The Eastern Conference lineup will include the Indiana Pacers’ Gerald Green, Toronto Raptors’ Terrence Ross and New York Knicks’ James White.

The 2013 NBA Slam Dunk contest will consist of the three Eastern Conference players competing against the three from the Western Conference in a two-round competition. The highest scoring East competitor and the highest scoring West competitor from the Team Round will compete head-to-head to determine the champion. Fan voting will open at the beginning of the Championship Round and the player with the highest percentage of combined votes from all platforms will be champion.

Evans won the 2012 Slam Dunk contest, defeating Houston’s Chase Budinger and Indiana’s Paul George in a tight race that included over 4 million fan votes to decide the champion.

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2012 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST

The AP reports: His nickname is the Human Pogo Stick and Utah’s Jeremy Evans set out to put some bounce back into the Slam Dunk Contest. Evans endeared himself to the fans with a mix of props and creativity, and they voted him the winner of one of the marquee events of the NBA’s All-Star Saturday festivities. Evans, who got into the competition as a replacement for injured New York guard Iman Shumpert, earned 29 percent of the 3 million votes cast. He beat out Houston’s Chase Budinger, Indiana’s Paul George and Minnesota’s Derrick Williams for the Jazz’s first-ever trophy in the contest. In a departure from past dunk competitions, fans were given complete voting power and cast their ballots by text message after each of the four participants competed in three one-dunk rounds. Evans dunked with a camera on his head, slammed two basketballs while jumping over a seated assistant and donned a Karl Malone jersey to dunk over mailman-dressed comedian Kevin Hart.

LIVE SLAM DUNK CONTEST NOTES:

The first dunk of the night featured Chase Budinger pulling P.Diddy onto the court and jumping over him while Diddy threw the basketball up into the air. Budinger successfully threw it down. Pretty sweet.

Jeremy Evans went next and put down a pretty unimpressive dunk that mostly featured him hanging and twisting on the rim a lot. Fun idea, but not too impressive.

Up third was Paul George, who after a few attempts jumped over Roy Hibbert and Dahntay Jones. George did use his left hand to push off Hibbert a bit during the leap, but it was still impressive.

And going last in the first set of dunks was Derrick Williams, who waited for a motorcycle to be parked on the court, a bit closer to the basket than the dotted circle. He threw down a nice windmill.

That was round 1. More coming. Reload shortly.

Budinger went first in round 2, and missed his first dunk, but hit his second. He went right down the middle, held the ball with two hands, and windmilled it from the dotted circle. It was very solid, but not too spectacular.

Up second in round 2 is Evans. For this, Gordon Hayward was sitting on a chair in the paint and threw two basketballs straight up in the air. And Evans caught and slammed them. Awesome dunk and my favorite of the day so far, by far.

Third was P-George, who dunked with the lights turned out in the arena while he wore glow-in-the-dark outlines on his uniform. He tossed down a pretty 360. Pretty great, and the gimmick was fun.

Derrick Williams is up, assisted by Ricky Rubio. They stood near each other in the right corner, and both ran at the basket at the same time along the sideline. Rubio then passed the ball off the right side of the backboard. Running behind him, Williams caught the ball as he had spun about 180 degrees, continued the spin and threw it down. Terrific dunk.

Dunks 2, 3 and 4 in the second round were pretty awesome. Jeremy Evans was weak in the first round, but his second round dunk of two basketballs over a sitting Hayward was the nicest throw-down of the day so far.

And now, round 3:
In the first dunk of round 3, Budinger began by bringing out Cedric Ceballos, who way back in the old days threw down an allegedly blindfolded dunk. Ceballos is just an observer, though. It's Budinger on his own, running down the middle. HE missed the first attempt, but nailed the second, and it was pretty impressive. THe actual dunk was a relatively easy two-handed reverse. Still, a good showing.

And now, Jeremy Evans. Before he bagan his dunk, comedian Kevin Hart came out pretending to be a mailman, and delivered a Karl Malone jersey to Evans, who put it on. Kevin Hart then stood in the paint. Evans then jumped over him, dunked with his right hand while putting his left hand on the back of his head.

Next was Paul George, who after a series of misses actually threw down a very difficult dunk where he jumped, tapped the right side of the glass with his left hand while spinning and then dunking from the left side of the glass. Harder to pull off than it looked.

And now Derrick Williams, after a few misses, called Rubio back out onto the floor. Rubio passed the ball off the right side of the glass while Williams ran straight down the middle of the paint and trying to catch in mid-air and put it through legs. But he kept missing over and over, and started to look tired. He then waved Rubio off, and kept trying, but missed over and over as time almost ran out, until finally with mere seconds left on the clock he simply bounced it off the glass and tossed it down with two hands.

And now, the world is voting, via text message, tweets and other such stuff.

After over 3 million fan votes, the winner is... Jeremy Evans! Congrats to the young member of the Utah Jazz.

Video highlights coming later tonight.

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NBA Slam Dunk Contest Preview

The 2012 Slam Dunk in Orlando will feature a series of firsts, including four first-time participants, a new single-round format in which the winner will be chosen solely by fan vote, and the introduction of fan voting via Twitter.

The four players who will vie for the Slam Dunk championship on Feb. 25, at Amway Center in Orlando (TNT, 8 p.m. ET) include the Houston Rockets’ Chase Budinger, the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George, Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz, and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Derrick Williams.

Originally scheduled to dunk was New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, but a sore knee caused him to have to skip the contest. On February 22 it was announced that Jeremy Evans would replace him.

A new format will be implemented for the 2012 competition. The contest will consist of only one round and each competitor will execute three dunks. Fan voting will open after all four players have completed their first dunk. Previously, the Slam Dunk contest consisted of two rounds, with the first round scored by a panel of judges which determined two finalists.

Beginning this year, only fan voting will be utilized in determining the winner and voting also will expand to social media. For the first time ever, fans will be able to cast votes on Twitter by posting a corresponding letter assigned to each dunker along with the hashtag # Slam. Since 2008, fans have determined the winner of the Slam Dunk through SMS TXT and voting on NBA.com as part of the “They Dunk. You Decide” campaign.

InsideHoops.com will provide full previews, live coverage and recaps of the dunk contest.

There will be a new NBA Slam Dunk champion
crowned on Feb. 19, at STAPLES Center (8 p.m. ET on TNT) in Los Angeles as
four first-time contestants vie for the title: the Los Angeles Clippers’
Blake Griffin, the Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan, the Oklahoma City
Thunder’s Serge Ibaka and the Washington Wizards’ JaVale McGee.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Jennings was originally named to participate in the contest but withdrew due to injury. DeRozan was his replacement.

Griffin emerged as the new NBA dunk champions, beating McGree in the finals. Here's how it went down:

DeMar DeRozan went first, with what was introduced as the East Bay Funk Remix. He missed multiple attempts, quickly sapping energy from the crowd, but when it finally went down it was plain nasty. He ran from the left baseline, caught a pass off the left side of the backboard and put it through his legs, getting a score of 44 from the judges.

Up second is Serge Ibaka. "Where is Serge Ibaka?" asked the announcer. After about 15 seconds, Ibaka emerged from a far corner of the court, with a small parade of flag-holding girls by his side. Ibaka went way into the backcourt to start his dunk, came down the middle without dribbling, and soared from the free throw line to put it down! The finish wasn't picture-perfect, however, so judges gave him a 45.

JaVale McGee went third and before his dunk sat patiently waiting a second full basket was brought out next to the regular one players are dunking on. And after multiple misses, he finally put it down, and it was awesome. He tossed one ball of the backboard while palming the other ball and did something I've never seen before. Judges were impressed too and gave him a perfect 50.

Up last is hometown favorite, Clippers star Blake Griffin. And as InsideHoops.com reported earlier in the day. Griffin started way up top and missed, but then connected on a great dunk where he went up with one hand, spun, pulled a complete 360 and threw it down with two hands, drawing a score of 49 from the judges.

End of first round: McGee 50, Griffin 49, Ibaka 45 and DeRozan 44.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest Second Round:

DeRozan's second dunk, which he called "The Showstopper," was absolutely nasty and drew a perfect 50. He lobbed it up from the right side, caught it off hte bounce, cuffed it with one hand and pulled it under for a beautiful, one-handed reverse jam. That gives DeRozan a total of 94 after two dunks.

For his second dunk, Ibaka was up, and a little actor kid said on the mic that his toy was stuck up on the front of the rim. Sure enough, a stuffed animal had been attached. But after the first miss, the man responsible for having the toy in place had trouble attaching it for a second attempt, so the dunk clock paused at 1:02. This time, Ibaka from out of bounds from the left side, jumped up, grabbed the toy with his mouth by biting it in mid-air, and then tossed down a nice one-handed cram. Judges gave him a 45, giving him a two-round total of 90.

Up third in the second round was Griffin, assisted by Baron Davis. Standing out of bounds, Griffin tried a reverse-spin dunk that seemed impossible to me. And sure enough, he missed two attempts, then changed things up and kept missing. A lot. But with the clock down to 30 seconds, Griffin caught a pass off the right side of th ebackboard with two hands, windmilled it and threw it down hard with one hand. Pretty awesome finish which got a 46 from judges, giving Griffin 95 points after two rounds.

McGee is up, and announced on the mic that he's dunked one ball, and two balls, so now it's time for three balls. Emerging from the crowd is McGee's mom, a former baller herself. For reasons that cannot be explained, she went and, one by one, gave each judge two kisses. Alrighty then! Anyway, McGee missed his initial attempts, which featured him running from the left corner holding two basketballs, trying to dunk them both while a third ball was lobbed up from the dotted circle. And finally he completed it, and I have to say I'd give McGee a 10 for originality. The judges agreed, giving McGee a 49 on his second dunk.
The 2011 NBA Slam Dunk contest finalists are Griffin and McGee.

For his first dunk in the final round, Griffin threw the basketball of fthe backboard, came down the middle, dunked hard with his right hand and jumped so high he was able to stuff his arm into the rim and hang by his elbow! No score was issued yet because fans can text their own scores in, and their vote counts in with what the actual dunk contest judges decide.

McGee is up, starting from the left corner, misses, does it again, comes from underneath the rim with his head under and slightly behind the back of the backboard, cuffs it and puts it in. Extremely hot dunk.

And now, Griffin is up, trying to dunk over a car that has been placed in front of the rim. With his head sticking out of the sunroof is teammate Baron Davis, while a choir from Crensaw, decked in Lakers purple and gold, sang at halffcourt. Griffin completed the dunk, but here's the problem: The car was very close to the rim, and Griffin appeared to jump from around the dotted circle, which isn't that spectacular. Still, it was sweet.

For his second dunk of the round and final attempt of the evening, McGree missed his first attempt, changed it up and missed again, then threw it off the backboard, ran down from the left elbow, caught it with one hand and threw down a pretty basic dunk that was not one of the evening's better stuffs.

The second McGree finished and the dunk contest ended, lots of fans here in Staples Center flocked to the exits, without waiting for the upcoming announcement as to who won this thing.

And with 68 percent of the fans vote from around the world, Blake Griffin wins the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk contest!

Player quotes and more coming later or tomorrow.

NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PREVIEW

Griffin will match up with TNT analyst and two-time NBA Slam Dunk contest participant
(1990, 1991) Kenny Smith; Jennings will practice with NBA Legend Darryl
Dawkins; McGee will work with NBA TV/TNT analyst and five-time NBA All-Star
Chris Webber; and Ibaka will prepare with Thunder teammate and 2009-10 NBA
scoring champion Kevin Durant. Each episode also will feature a "dunk
selection ceremony" where the participants will choose which slam dunks they
want to keep and which they decide to send to "the bench."

Fans will again have the opportunity to determine the winner of the NBA Slam Dunk contest as part of the “They Dunk. You Decide” campaign, which debuted as
part of the event in 2008.

The two dunkers with the highest first round scores will advance to the
final round. The dunker with the lowest total score from the first round
will compete first in the final round. Dunks then will alternate until each
player has completed two. Time limit rules still apply. In the final
round, fan voting polls will open via SMS TXT message and at NBA.com. The
combined results from SMS TXT voting and NBA.com will determine the
champion.

The AP reports: Nate Robinson is the NBA’s first three-time slam dunk champion, and that’s enough for him. The 5-foot-9 New York Knicks guard says he’s done with the marquee event of Saturday night’s All-Star festivities. “No, no, no, no, no. I don’t think I can bear that anymore. I’m just happy with this third one,” he said. “This is the last one.” Robinson barely won another title, garnering 51 percent of the fan vote to hold off Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan in a largely forgettable dunk contest. DeRozan advanced to the final round after getting a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round.

The AP reports: DeRozan’s perfect score came after he caught a pass off the side of the backboard and slammed it with his right hand on the other side of the hoop. DeRozan got a spot in the competition by winning the first-ever All-Star Slam Dunk-In, beating Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon at halftime of the rookie challenge on Friday night.

NATE ROBINSON INTERVIEW AFTER WINNING 2010 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST

Question: Are you going to go for four slam dunk championships?

Nate Robinson: No, no, no, no, no. I don't think I can bear that anymore. I'm just happy with this third one, man, you know, I thank God for it, continue to just try to take things to the next level.

Question: You mentioned your mom when you were being interviewed on TV. Can you elaborate -- is everything okay?

Nate Robinson: She's fine. She's just been a little sick. She's been throwing up a lot. The hospital is giving her an IV everything and to make sure she's okay. She was supposed to come in, but I know my mom is real strong.
She said she won't be able to make it but again she told me to just go out there and be me, and I did that for her.

Question: What did you like best about your performance tonight? It was a little different than past years.

Nate Robinson: The best thing, I brought them with me right here, the Dallas cheerleaders, of course. I asked them if they can help me out with a dunk and everything and they did their job and I did mine.

Question: I wonder what you thought of DeRozan's dunks tonight, including him getting a 50 in the first round.

Nate Robinson: A young fella, he can jump, he has a lot of creativity with his dunks. Downstairs he was practicing some different dunks I thought he was going to do but I guess they was just for warmups. Don't be surprised if you see him next year. Hopefully I can give my brother, Terrence Williams, I've known him for a long time, if he were him in the dunk context, I know he probably would have won this one. He's at home probably wondering, "Why they didn't let me be in it." You're going to see a lot more of that kid.

Question: When it came down to that last dunk, were you getting a little nervous due to that dunk that Rosen did? And what did you do to create that dunk? Did you have this preplanned?

Nate Robinson: I knew that the last thing I did was going to be the final dunk for me. I was just waiting, waiting to see -- like before his first dunk, when he jumped over his teammate. I was like, all right, because I was trying to do the dunk between the legs underneath the basket. I couldn't get it, so I just get a dunk to get some points. And I knew my last dunk was going to be difficult to beat. And then you know, he jumped I think from the dotted line or the windmill, he tried the first time, I don't know what he did, I missed it. But he missed the dunk, thank God, and the last dunk, you know, and the fans voted. They voted for me I guess.

Question: Was this contest for you as exciting as the previous ones in terms of the competition and level of dunks?

Nate Robinson: I mean, all of them were. All of them were. That's the beauty about the NBA, you know, you have different kind of athletes, you have different kind of players and you have different kind of dunkers. So again, you've got to be on your A Game and you've got to step to the plate, you know, ready to hit a home run, and that's what I tried to do tonight.

Question: Most guys do this once, maybe two years. Can you talk about the difficulty of trying to be creative and coming up with new dunks this third time?

Nate Robinson: You know you just have to try to figure out a dunk that nobody's tried, or kind of like a tribute dunk, I guess, or you know, a copycat dunk, you could say. But myself, I just think, you know, different kids, I see if can get people's attention, and that's what you've got to try to do.

Question: When did you come up with the idea to bring the cowboy cheerleaders in?

Nate Robinson: We were in Dallas, so right when they said I was in it, I was like, I've got to be creative, I've got to think of something fast, and I was like, well, I'm a football guy, I watch a lot of football. So I see them all the time, especially on that big JumboTron, can't miss them. I was like, why not, we're in Dallas and just play homage to them. They do a phenomenal job. And I'm a football guy, so I love football.

Question: When will you start preparing for your next title?

Nate Robinson: No more titles. No more. Finished. It's the last one.

Question: You mentioned the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Was there ever a serious thought to using one of them as a prop, more integrated than what you did out there?

Nate Robinson: No, that was the main thing just to have them out there. I mean, they are pretty much, you know, the face of the Cowboys, always there, there's about a hundred of them, and so you know, they picked the best four and you know, they was just -- have them come out and prepare them for the fans and everything for Sunday's game. I thought that was the main thing.

In a new event this year, the NBA has decided that there will be a "dunk-off" event during halftime of Friday's Rookie Challenge game, featuring DeRozan vs. Gordon. The winner of it will be the 4th dunker participating in the main NBA Slam Dunk contest Saturday night.

InsideHoops.com predicts that DeRozan, a recognized, high-flying, super-leaper, will beat Gordon, a sturdy guard not known for his dunking, on Friday and be the 4th dunker for Saturday's event.

We're also leaning towards DeRozan possibly winning the entire NBA Slam Dunk contest, but the favorite is Robinson, who has alraedy won it twice.

----------

2009 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST
February 14, 2009

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson, standing a mere 5-9, beat Dwight Howard to win the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk contest championship. It's the second time Robinson has won the NBA dunk competition.

Below are raw, totally unedited NBA slam dunk contest notes taken live as the action happened.

JR Smith went first and started very nicely, from near halfcourt on the left side, threw the ball up high, and let it bounce twice, charging at the rim to catch and windmill it home. Extremely nice start. The judges gave him a 43 out of 50.

Rudy Fernandez went second. He took off his outer jersey to reveal a Fernando Martin jersey, who was the first Spanish player to play in the NBA. Fernandez drove from the left side, threw a behind-the-back pass off the backboard, jumped high and threw it down nicely with one hand. Judges awarded him a 42.

Former slam dunk contest champion Nate Robinson went third. He started from the left elbow in three-point range, tossed the ball in the air and let it bounce, didn't like it and did it again, launched himself sky-high, caught the ball with two hands, then windmilled it home with the right hand, looking oh-so-pretty for a score of 46.

Current champion Dwight Howard goes last. he started from out of bounds halfdown down the left baseline, tossed the ball high a few times, liked one and missed, but kept going, ran in, twisted as he jumped, caught the ball with his left hand and threw it down with the right from the right side of the basket. It was an extremely good dunk, but not absolutely amazing. Judges gave him a perfect 50.

The official opinion of InsideHoops.com is, the judges have pushed the points up by a point or so too many. Howard probably deserved a 48. Everyone else probably deserved a point or two less than they got. And Fernandez's first dunk deserved no more than a 40.

As long as the judges stay consistent, it's OK, though the only problem they could run into is the 50-point ceiling. We'll see.

So far this is a fun dunk contest!

Second dunk, round one:

Fernandez went first for the second dunk, and he's being helped by fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol is standing under the basket support, and he's throwing a very complicated behind-the-back pass that is designed to bounce gently off the bottom of the backboard. It isn't working well, and after a few attempts he changes the pass, now bouncing it off the lower back of the backboard. Fernandez is coming in down the left baseline, trying to catch it from behind the basket, bring it down under the backboard to slam it in. The problem is, Rudy doesn't have those kind of crazy hops, so it isn't working, and after multiple failed attempts the time-limit expired.

But, Rudy gets one more chance, and they tried almost the same thing. This time, Gasol bounced it off the back of the right side of the backboard, and Fernandez soared in, caught it, successfully put it in, impressing everyone who seconds earlier had almost given up on him during this set of attempts. He got a 42.

JR Smith is up and started from the far right corner along the baseline, with help from Sonny Weems. But after a few failed attempts, his helper moved off the court into the stands, about 12 feet off the court on the right side, and tossed a pass that Smith, coming down the left side of the middle caught, swung and flushed home. He got a 42.

Nate the Great is up third. Teammate Wilson Chandler got down on his hands and knees in the paint, and Nate ran down the middle, stepped on Chandler's back and used him as a stepladder and threw home a one-handed dunk which wasn't that impressive. He probably should have stuck to a normal dunk.

Right after his dunk, Robinson actually jogged off the court back to the locker room area. InsideHoops.com isn't sure why, yet.

Dwight Howard is up last, and he's got something special planned. A second basket is being wheeled out and placed to the left of the first basket. That second basket is apparently 12 feet high.

Then, Howard jogged off the court to a phone booth which was off the court on the left side, and put on a red Superman cape.

And now, here's the dunk:

Teammate Jameer Nelson was there to help, and threw up a short pass that bounced off the backboard, then the front rim. And Howard soared in and threw down a pretty simple, straightforward dunk - on the 12 foot rim. Judges gave him another perfect 50.

So, after the full first round, Howard has 100, Robinson 87. Those are the 2009 NBA Slam dunk contest finalists.

NBA SLAM DUNK FINALS

Robinson is now KryptoNate, wearing a green Knicks uniform, green socks and green shoes.
He starts in the far left corner, throws the ball up, catches it with two hands, pulls the ball down, and puts it down with two hands behind his head. It was a very nice dunk, made better of course by the fact that KryptoNate is a little midget.

And now, D-Howard, who starts from the far left corner, moving out of bounds, and threw it perfectly off the right side of the backboard, flew in, caught it with the right hand, hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, and threw in a perfect dunk.
See, as I said earlier, the judges are messing up. Howard's 50 is better than any other 50 today so far. But they're both 50's.

For Nate Robinson's second dunk, he actually used Dwight Howard, who stood in the paint. Robinson came right down the middle, jumped, used his left hand to push off Howard's shoulder, and more or less jumped totally over Dwight to thrown down a beautiful dunk. Robinson did jump totally over Howard, but I think Nate wouldn't have been able to do it had he not used his left hand for an extra lift. Still great, though.

For Howard's second dunk he moved all the way down the court, having to move tons of photographers and others away in the process.
It looks like he's going for a free throw line dunk!

Howard starts all the way down the court, from the left side, races the floor, and soars from maybe six inches inside the free throw line for a dunk that, while amazing to pull off, didn't look quite as awesome as it could have due to Howard seemingly being uncertain of himself in the air and in the finish. Dwight also reacted in slightly disappointed fashion after he landed, which doesn't help pump people up.

And with 52% of fan voting support for the winner, the 2009 NBA slam dunk contest champion is Nate Robinson.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest Preview

The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard will defend his crown in the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night Feb. 14, at US Airways Center (8 p.m. ET on TNT) in Phoenix. Howard will compete against the Memphis Grizzlies' Rudy Gay, who participated in last year’s contest, and the New York Knicks’ Nate Robinson, winner of the 2006 contest in Houston.
The fourth dunker in the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk contest, as chosen by fans, is Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers. Fernandez beat out Joe Alexander of the Milwaukee Bucks and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Fans on InsideHoops.com are discussing this year's competition here. Join in and share your opinion.

In New Orleans last year, Howard edged defending champion Gerald Green, then of the Minnesota Timberwolves, for the NBA Slam Dunk title in one of the most creative competitions in recent history. Howard scored perfect 50s on both of his first round dunks - one of which included his donning a cape for a “Superman” dunk -- and received 78 percent of the fans' votes in the finals. Howard will attempt to become the first player since Golden State’s Jason Richardson (2002-2003) to win back-to-back NBA Slam Dunk titles. The only previous repeat Slam Dunk champion was Chicago’s Michael Jordan, who won the 1987 and 1988 contests.

The two dunkers with the highest first round scores will advance to the final round. The dunker with the lowest total score from the first round will compete first in the final round. Dunks then will alternate until each player has completed two. Time limit rules still apply. In the final round, fan voting polls will open via SMS TXT message and at NBA.com. The combined results from SMS TXT voting and NBA.com will determine the champion.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Gerald Green will defend his crown in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Weekend Saturday Night Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena (8 p.m. ET on TNT). Green will compete against two first-time entrants – the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay and former D-Leaguer Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors -- as well as the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard, who competed in the 2007 contest.

For the first time, fans will have the final say in deciding the winner of the NBA basketball Slam Dunk competition. Following the concluding round of dunks, fans will be able to cast their votes via SMS TXT message and at NBA.com to determine this year’s winner. The dunker with the most fan votes will be named the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk contest. A panel of judges will continue to play a key role by determining which two participants advance to the final round. During the final round, each judge’s vote will count the same as a fan vote.

Last year in Las Vegas, Green, then a member of the Boston Celtics, outlasted defending champion Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks for the NBA basketball Slam Dunk championship. Green tallied the three highest scores of the night, including a perfect score of 50 on his final dunk as he windmilled while hurdling an All-Star table.

Golden State’s Jason Richardson was the last player to win back-to-back NBA basketball Slam Dunk titles, capturing the 2002 and 2003 competitions. The only previous repeat Slam Dunk champion was Chicago’s Michael Jordan, who won the 1987 and 1988 contests.

The dunker with the lowest total score from the first round will compete first in the final round. Dunks then will alternate until each player has completed two. Time limit rules still apply. After the four finals dunks are completed, fan voting polls will open via SMS TXT message and at NBA.com. Each judge will then provide commentary on the dunkers and hold up a placard with his vote for the winner. The judge’s votes will be combined with the SMS TXT and NBA.com votes to determine the champion.

Live Slam Dunk contest notes up top, rosters and preview lower down on this page.

LIVE 2007 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST NOTES

The hottest event of the evening, and sometimes of the entire weekend, is on.

Tyrus Thomas went first, taking a bounce from teammate Ben Gordon, missing a reverse dunk attempt first, passing on trying the second, missing the third, and then waved Gordon off, stood at the foul line, bounced the ball backwards between his legs against the backboard, lept up straight on, caught it with two hands and threw it down hard with no real twists. He got a 37.

Gerald Green went next, starting in the right corner, assisted by teammate Paul Pierce. And the dunk was interesting: Pierce ran at the backboard along the sideline and carefully bounced it off the right corner of the backboard, and Green soared in, caught it in mid-air with two hands and swung it around before putting it in. Awesome dunk. He got a 48. I thought it was a 49 or 50.

Dwight Howard was third, and worked alone, coming down the middle after initially starting from the right-side three-point elbow, jumped, held the ball with two hands, swung it around and put it down nicely, getting a 43.

Defending NBA slam dunk champ Nate Robinson went last, starting up top, lobbing the ball high, bouncing it under the rim, jumped insanely high, caught it in the air with one hand and his legs twisting, almost flying like a super hero, and put it down. THe judges only gave him a 45. I thought it deserved a 48 or 49.

So after the first set of slam dunks Green led with 48, Nate Rob second with 45.

For the second dunk Tyrus Thomas went down the middle. Teammate Ben Gordon, standing under the rim, was holding the ball while Thomas ran down the middle. Gordon bounced it down and Thomas jumped directly over Gordon, caught it in the air and threw it down with one hand. He actually tore the net in the dunk. I've never seen that happen before. So, a break was taken as workmen came out with a yellow ladder, climbed up, removed the rest of the torn net and started putting on a new one.

D-Howard went second, holding a small sticker with his face on it in his left hand, ran down the middle, took a lob from teammate Jameer Nelson who was standing under the rim, and on the left side of the rim dunked the ball with his right hand while extending his left arm as high as possible on the left side of the glass, sticking the sticker ridiculously high up. Creative, good stuff! He got a 42.

Nate Robinson came from the left corner, running baseline while teammate David Lee stood in the paint holding his arm straight up with the ball resting in his palm. Robinson ran in, jumped, took the ball from Lee while the ball was still resting on Lee's hand (in other words, Lee didn't throw or bounce it) and put in a fairly standard twisting one-hander. He got a 45.

Gerald Green is up, and made sure to change sneakers while everyone was watching. Teammate Paul Pierce originally took a cardboard cutout of Nate Robinson and was going to use it, but then they grabbed the real Nate and had him stand in the paint. Green then proceeded to remove his top, revealing a Dee Brown #7 Celtics jersey from years past. He then ran down the middle, jumped over Robinson's head while covering his eyes with his forearm and legs twisting, uncovered his eyes at the last second before putting it down. It was beautiful. He got a ____.

The 2007 NBA Slam Dunk finals are Green vs. Robinson.

Robinson went first, coming down the middle, bouncing the ball up and leaping up just trying to cram it with one hand, missing his first two before putting it down with the third try. He was grabbing the rim with the left hand while throwing it down with the right. Judges gave him a 39.

Michael Jordan has been the toughest judge, but he's been consistent, so that's fine.

Green, after consulting with Pierce, started from teh right-side three-point elbow. Teammate Paul Pierce, standing out of bounds behind and to the left side of the basket, lobbed a pass in that Green caught and threw down pretty straight-away with two hands. He got a 41.

Robinson is starting at centercourt and is trying to bounce it off the backboard to catch, twist and throw down a 360. He's passed on a few attempts, not actually missing. He's on his fifth attempt now and is moving closer to the basket now and is rapidly losing steam. He is getting tired and maybe nervous. And was unable to put anything down within the two minute time limit. So all of that just counts as one miss. He gets to try again now with a fresh two minutes. But he looks extremely tired. And on the 10th try he finally got it, throwing it off the backboard while at the free throw line, running, leaping, catching it and putting down a reverse 180 dunk and seemed to get a sudden extra burst of energy. He got a 41, which is actually pretty fantastic considering he was struggling.

Green, up next, put a table with a black all-star tablecloth in the paint, just outside of the circle. And then came down the middle and launched himself over it throwing down a windmill, drawing a perfect score of 50 from the judges, winning the contest.

Gerald Green is the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk champion.

NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST PREVIEW

New York’s Nate Robinson will defend his crown in the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 17 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Robinson will compete against three first-time entrants – Boston’s Gerald Green, who is an alumnus of the NBA Development League, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas – for this year’s title.

Last year in Houston, the 5-9 Robinson outlasted Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala 47-46 in a dunk-off to become only the second sub-6-foot winner in contest history joining Spud Webb, the 1986 champion. Webb provided the bounce pass for Robinson’s only 50-point dunk of the competition.

Golden State’s Jason Richardson was the last player to win back-to-back NBA Slam Dunk titles capturing the 2002 and 2003 competitions. The only previous repeat Slam Dunk champion was Chicago’s Michael Jordan, who won the 1987 and 1988 contests.

There are two rule changes for this year’s competition: Upon receiving the ball from the referee, players will have a two-minute time limit to complete their dunk. If a player hasn’t completed a dunk when the two-minute clock expires, he will have two more attempts to do so. Also new this year is the use of television instant replay, at the discretion of the referee, for clarification of rules compliance.

The NBA Slam Dunk contest will be broadcast live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night.

Below is the lineup for the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk participants followed by past slam dunk contest winners:

From Jeff Lenchiner, editor of InsideHoops.com: I'm going with Gerald Green. He's going to destroy this thing. Nate Robinson should come in second, Tyrus Thomas third, and Dwight Howard fourth. The reason I'm saying Howard is last is because of his size. Yeah, he can jump, but he's more of a power leaper. He can get insanely high up in the air, so I'm sure he'll surprise a few people, but the creativity factor is going to hold him back.

That's my first instinct. Be here on InsideHoops.com for complete, in-depth previews of the entire weekend and event event, plus full live coverage and the best recaps on the web.